Cosplayers and models share selfies to celebrate Bikini Day in Japan

Women in Japan and across the world commemorated the 70th birthday of the bikini on July 5 by showing off their beach bodies on the internet.

In 1946 Louis Reard, a Parisian fashion designer, invented a two-piece swimsuit called the bikini. While the risqué garment was originally declared sinful by the Vatican government and took many years to catch on, now, 70 years later, women around the world have happily embraced the humble bikini, and when it came to celebrating Bikini Day on July 5, they weren’t shy about showing off their feminine curves in their favourite two-pieces. In Japan, popular cosplayers and bikini models took to social media to share photos of themselves in the skimpy outfit, along with the hashtag #ビキニの日 (#bikini no hi/#Bikini Day), and the results were cute, sweet and sometimes a little bit shocking. Let’s take a look at some of the photos below.

Cosplayers also celebrated the day of the bikini with a number of atmospheric photos, like this one from male cosplayer Nonomy, who looks stunning as Miki Hoshi from THE iDOLM@STER anime and video games.